Turkish airspace violations continue
As Turkish violations of Greek airspace continued on Wednesday, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said that Greece must remain vigilant but there is no concern over an incident in the Aegean.
“Greece has never had stronger alliances than the ones it has now,” he said in an interview aired on Alpha TV.
Earlier in the day, two Turkish F-16s entered the Athens Flight Information Region without first submitting a flight plan. They flew over Farmakonisi at 10.08 p.m. at 27,000 feet, then a minute later over Agathonisi at 25,000 feet and, at 10.12 a.m., over Kouneli at 25,000 feet.
The Hellenic National Defense General Staff (GEETHA) said the Turkish aircraft were identified and intercepted by Greek pilots in line with international rules of engagement.
The activity came a day after Turkish jets violated Greek national airspace 99 times, apparently in response to an ongoing annual exercise by the Hellenic Navy in the Aegean.
Meanwhile, tensions between Washington and Ankara over the latter’s planned purchase of the Russian S-400 weapons system continued on Wednesday.
Referring to a letter last week from Acting US Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan, who warned of consequences if Turkey proceeds with the purchase, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar was quoted by the Anadolu Agency as saying that it contradicted the spirit of the NATO alliance.
